Fight or Flight

Flight or Fight is ridiculous. Properly stupid film. Well over the top in every way.

Acting is so bad but funny and this is a darn decent watch.

The story is nothing not seen before.

Josh Hartnett is another in a long line of movie super spies with ridiculous skills in fighting etc.

But I'll put all that to the side because to be fair this film has some absolutely hilarious fight scenes and plenty of blood and creative kills.

It's colorful to an almost cartoonesque degree, bright and bold and at least you can see what's happening! So that's a huge bonus.

The humour mostly hits.

It takes about 5 minutes to work out who the 'baddie' is but this ain't Agatha Christie so probably best to forget that.

Just watch for the absolutely mental fight scenes. Because that's all this is.

Wow what to say about fight or flight? Well for starters it's absolutely bonkers! The action certainly never lets up a la crank. Unfortunately Josh hartnett is no Jason Statham but does a adequate job as the rogue FBI agent sent on one last job to redeem himself from the worldiness. Katie sackhoff play's his straight laced permanently scowling boss. The action mostly takes place aboard a aircraft en route to San Francisco full of assassins baying for hartnetts blood and one Very demure air hostess who isn't all she appears to be. The action set pieces are excellently choreographed especially the absolutely bonkers chainsaw sequence at the end I kid you not! But it's all in good fun and played out purely tongue in cheek! Leave your brain at the door, Go and enjoy!!

Fight or Flight is a perfect example of a fun movie. So, what makes a fun action flick? Let's explore.

First, you have to have good pacing. Things need to move, plot points need to happen frequently, slow parts/character moments need to be relatively short. This movie succeeds.

Second, the action needs to be on the crazy side, a bit over-the-top. No holding back, no cowardly PG-13 rating. Blood and gore are a plus. And a cherry on top would be if the action is filmed clearly, easy for the viewer to see. This movie succeeds.

Third, add some humor, preferably organic to the premise as opposed to inserting random jokes. If the tone of the movie is bloody, then use the bloodiness for humor. Make me laugh at the extent of the carnage. This movie succeeds.

Josh Hartnett does a great job in this role, especially with the humor. I had an awesome time with this movie and would watch it again.

(1 viewing, 5/5/2025)

Fight or Flight is an unashamed genre mash-up that doesn't so much blend action and comedy as throw them into the overhead lockers and take off at full speed. Josh Hartnett leans into the absurdity with the same gusto Bruce Campbell brought to Evil Dead. All flailing limbs, deadpan one-liners, and a face that says, "I did not sign up for this." The film knows exactly what it is and, more importantly, what it isn't. It's not trying to be clever. It's trying to be fun, and it is.

There's a clear nod to Campbell's Ash in the way Hartnett navigates chaos. He somehow manages to be both the straight man and the punchline. At times, the film flirts with the ridiculousness of Snakes on a Plane. Just when you think it can't get more over-the-top, it throws in a set piece straight out of the John Wick playbook; if Wick were running on fumes and duct tape.

The violence is cartoonish. The humour lands more often than not. The pacing is tight enough to keep you buckled in. It's the kind of film that winks at the audience without smugness and invites you to enjoy the ride. You will.

It's a solid 7.5 out of 10. Not because it redefines the genre, but because it remembers what so many films forget. If you're going to be ridiculous, be really good at it.

I was really impressed with Josh's Peter Lorresque turn in last year's underrated Trap. However after a long lay-off to raise a family his choices have been kind of sketchy, and something about his essential midwestern idealism doesn't read as a jaded former operative called out of his drunken stupor in Thailand to find a spy on a transcontinental flight back to the states. There's kind of an interesting Agatha Christie quality to his queries of whom on the flight it could be between the usual "when are they adding stunt work as an Oscars category?" over-choreographed fight scenes, but the film of course feels cobbled together from familiar sources (the expletive-filled lazy dialogue in the agency with a strangely Jessica Chastainesque Katee Sackoff made one miss the subtleties of Black Book). The film offered intriguing questions ("Is there really a full shower offered in Malaysian Business Class?"), but it'd be neat if say the BBC did a series about the flight crew of one of these snazzy flights alone rather than having Liam, Brad or Josh beating up people around them; they seem like an interesting, fun bunch. Oh well, caught my favorite two minutes of Pugh and Harbour in Thunderbolts again and Gene Hackman marathon on TCM tonight. Good enough for me. Cheers!